1. Field
Apparatuses and methods consistent with the exemplary embodiments disclosed herein relate to an optical modulator including a nanostructure having high resolution as well as high photo efficiency and being capable of controlling characteristics of transmitted and received light.
2. Description of the Related Art
Optical devices for changing transmission or reflection, polarization, phase, intensity, path, and other characteristics of incident light are utilized in various optical apparatuses. In addition, optical modulators with various structures have been developed to control, via a desired method, the characteristics described above in an optical system.
As an example, a liquid crystal having optical anisotropy, a microelectromechanical system (MEMS) utilizing micro-mechanical movements of an optical blocking or reflecting device, and other types of devices have been widely used in optical modulators. Due to the characteristics of driving methods of these optical modulators, these optical modulators have a slow movement response time of an order greater than several micro-seconds (μs).
Recently, efforts have been made to utilize, in optical devices, a nanostructure which uses a surface plasmon resonance phenomenon occurring at a boundary between a metal layer and a dielectric layer.